Authors

Document Type

Article

Repository Date

2009

Keywords

exemplar cuing, low-probability events, imaginability, exemplars

Subject Categories

Applied Statistics | Law | Statistics and Probability

Abstract

Newell, Mitchell, and Hayes (NMH) conduct three experiments designed to test whether exemplar cuing (EC) theory or a statistical format theory provides a more accurate account for how people make judgments about low-probability events. They report finding support for the statistical format theory and little or no support for EC. However, NMH misstate the requirements for the production of exemplars in EC theory. As a result, they confuse non-exemplar conditions with exemplar conditions in their experiments, and find results that are virtually irrelevant to EC theory.